It was once called the golden touch. These days it's the Oprah touch.
With Tuesday’s announcement that Oprah Winfrey is launching a cable network next year, the top-rated daytime talk show host will soon have a major presence in every form of media. There's already her syndicated TV show, an upcoming broadcast reality series, her own XM Radio channel, O, the Oprah magazine, and Oprah.com.
That's all given her enormous clout as a shaper of American opinion, which became even clearer when Barack Obama won her endorsement and saw a jump in his numbers leading into his surprise win in Iowa two weeks ago.
With her new cable network, OWN, co-partnered with Discovery Communications, Winfrey is aiming to spread her feel-good message to entire families.
Here’s a look at the Winfrey empire by the numbers.
“Oprah” remains the No. 1 daytime talk show by a wide margin, a spot she’s held for 21 years. The show has won every sweeps period since its 1986 debut.
Season to date, her show is averaging a 5.6 Nielsen household rating, down 15 percent from last season but still 22 percent ahead of No. 2 “Dr. Phil,” which is produced by Winfrey’s Harpo Productions, as is No. 5 show “Rachael Ray.”
Winfrey’s print venture has been equally successful. O magazine sold $311.6 million in advertising last year, up 8 percent over the previous year, according to the Publishers Information Bureau. The women’s lifestyle publication was also up 4.2 percent in ad pages, from 2,028.57 in 2006 to 2,113.55 in 2007, compared with a 0.6 percent decrease for all magazines tracked by PIB last year.
The magazine has a total circulation of more than 2.4 million, and subscriptions were up 7 percent during the first half of 2007, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations.
Oprah.com, the site that includes information on her syndicated show as well as her book club, ranks No. 4,169 among the billion or so sites on the web, according to internet information tracking company Alexa.com. It ranks No. 1,264 in the U.S., and it draws more than 4 million visitors per month, generating an average 68 million page views.
In November, Winfrey launched a channel on YouTube that has generated more than 800,000 views.
Oprah’s Book Club has more than 1 million online members. Each of the 60 books she’s selected so far has become a bestseller, spurring more than a million books sold since its inception in 1996.
In September 2006, Winfrey launched her XM Radio channel, which includes regular TV contributors Nate Berkus, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Bob Greene and more, in a deal worth $55 million.
Winfrey’s net worth is estimated at roughly $2.5 billion, making her the richest woman in America. She’s appeared on the cover of dozens of magazines, prompting record sales for publications from Runner’s World to InStyle to Vogue.
Though Winfrey’s acting career has been mostly dormant since her 1998 film “Beloved,” the one-time Academy Award nominee (for “The Color Purple”) has remained involved with films. She produced Denzel Washington’s recent “The Great Debaters” as well as a number of TV films, including hits “Their Eyes Were Watching God” and “Tuesdays with Morrie” for ABC.
That network will also carry Winfrey’s upcoming reality show “The Big Give,” in which contestants receive money they can use to help other people.
Meanwhile, in other dayparts for the week ended Jan. 6, NBC’s “Meet the Press” finished first among the Sunday morning shows in total viewers with 4.37 million tuning in and first among viewers 25-54 with a 1.3 rating. ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” was second in viewers with 3.04 million and tied for second among 25-54s with a 1.0, with CBS’s “Face the Nation” pulling 2.98 million viewers and a 1.0 among 25-54s. “Fox News Sunday” was fourth in viewers with 1.45 million and among 25-54s with a 0.6.
In late night, NBC’s “Tonight Show with Jay Leno” finished first for the week, averaging 5.9 million total viewers and a 1.7 rating among adults 18-49. CBS’s “The Late Show with David Letterman” had 4.7 million viewers and a 1.4 rating in the demo, with ABC’s “Nightline” bringing in 3.4 million viewers and a 1.0 18-49 rating. In late-late night, NBC’s “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” had 2.5 million total viewers and a 1.0 in 18-49s, with CBS’s “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” at 2.0 million viewers and a 0.6, ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” at 1.7 million viewers and a 0.6, and NBC’s “Last Call with Carson Daly” bringing in 1.3 million viewers and a 0.5 among 18-49s.
In morning shows, NBC’s “Today” was first with 5.8 million total viewers and a 4.3 household rating and 16 share, followed by ABC’s “Good Morning America” with 4.4 million viewers and a 3.4/12. CBS’s “Early Show” was third with 3.0 million total viewers and a 2.3/8.
CBS once again had the largest full daytime audience during the week, averaging 4.19 million viewers, and was tied for first among women 18-49 with a 1.5 rating. NBC had the second-largest audience, averaging 3.10 million viewers, and was tied for first among women 18-49 with a 1.5 rating. ABC had a full daytime audience of 2.85 million and also was third among women 18-49 with a 1.3 rating.
In evening network news for the week ended Jan. 13, NBC’s “Nightly News with Brian Williams” was first among total viewers, averaging 9.67 million, and among 25-54s with a 2.5 average rating. ABC’s “World News with Charles Gibson” was second in viewers, averaging 9.28 million, and tied for first among 25-54s with a 2.4, while CBS’s “Evening News with Katie Couric” was third for the week with 6.86 million total viewers and a 1.8 25-54 rating.
|
SUNDAY MORNING SHOW RATINGS
Week ending January 6, 2008
Sunday averages |
|
Program |
Network |
Households |
|
|
Rtg% |
Shr |
Adults 25-54 |
Total viewers (millions) |
|
Meet the Press |
NBC |
3.3 |
9 |
1.3 |
4.372 |
|
This Week With George Stephanopoulos |
ABC |
2.3 |
6 |
1.0 |
3.040 |
|
Face the Nation |
CBS |
2.2 |
6 |
1.0 |
2.976 |
|
News Sunday |
Fox |
1.1 |
3 |
0.6 |
1.448 |
|
Source: NTI |
|
LATE-NIGHT RATINGS
Week Ending January 6, 2008
Five-day averages |
|
Program |
Network |
People 2+ |
Adults 18-49 |
|
Total viewers (millions) |
Rtg% |
|
Tonight Show with Jay Leno |
NBC |
5.9 |
1.7 |
|
Late Show with David Letterman |
CBS |
4.7 |
1.4 |
|
Nightline |
ABC |
3.4 |
1.0 |
|
Late Night with Conan O’Brien |
NBC |
2.5 |
1.0 |
|
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson |
CBS |
2.0 |
0.6 |
|
Jimmy Kimmel Live |
ABC |
1.7 |
0.6 |
|
Last Call with
Carson Daly |
NBC |
1.3 |
0.5 |
|
Source: NTI
|
|
MORNING SHOW RATINGS
Week Ending January 6, 2008
Five-day averages |
|
Program |
Network |
Households |
People 2+ |
|
Rtg% |
Shr |
Total viewers (millions) |
|
Today |
NBC |
4.3 |
16 |
5.8 |
|
Good Morning
America |
ABC |
3.4 |
12 |
4.4 |
|
Early Show |
CBS |
2.3 |
8 |
3.0 |
|
Source: NTI |
|
DAYTIME RATINGS
Week Ending Jan. 6, 2008
Five-day averages |
|
|
Total viewers (millions) |
Women 18-49 |
|
Network |
(millions) |
Rtg% |
|
CBS |
4.19 |
1.5 |
|
NBC |
3.10 |
1.5 |
|
ABC |
2.85 |
1.3 |
|
Source: NTI |
|
EVENING NETWORK NEWS RATINGS
Week Ending January 13, 2008
Five-day averages |
|
Program |
Network |
25-54s |
People 2+ |
|
Rtg% |
Total viewers (millions) |
|
NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams |
NBC |
2.5 |
9.673 |
|
ABC World News with Charles Gibson |
ABC |
2.4 |
9.280 |
|
CBS Evening News with Katie Couric |
CBS |
1.8 |
6.858 |
|
Source: Nielsen Media Research |
|
SYNDICATION
Ranked on Households
Week Ending December 30, 2007 |
|
# |
PROGRAMS |
Syndicator |
Households |
|
US
Rtg% |
(000) |
|
1
|
WHEEL OF FORTUNE
|
CTD
|
6.8
|
7663
|
|
2
|
JEOPARDY
|
CTD
|
5.6
|
6344
|
|
3
|
ESPN NFL REGULAR SEASON
|
ESP
|
5.3
|
6022
|
|
4
|
JUDGE JUDY (AT)
|
CTD
|
4.9
|
5544
|
|
5
|
OPRAH WINFREY SHOW
|
CTD
|
4.7
|
5249
|
|
6
|
TWO-HALF MEN-SYN (AT)
|
WB
|
4.4
|
4942
|
|
7
|
WHEEL OF FORTUNE WKND
|
CTD
|
4.0
|
4532
|
|
7
|
EVRY LVS RAYMOND-SYN(AT)
|
CTD
|
4.0
|
4494
|
|
7
|
DR. PHIL SHOW (AT)
|
CTD
|
4.0
|
4479
|
|
7
|
CSI MIAMI-SYN (AT)
|
CTD
|
4.0
|
4458
|
|
7
|
FAMILY GUY-MF-SYN (AT)
|
2/T
|
4.0
|
4456
|
|
12
|
SEINFELD (AT)
|
SPT
|
3.9
|
4450
|
|
13
|
SEINFELD-WKND (AT)
|
SPT
|
3.6
|
4053
|
|
14
|
ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT(AT)
|
CTD
|
3.5
|
3973
|
|
15
|
07 NFL REGULAR SEASON SAT
|
NFL
|
3.2
|
3560
|
|
16
|
LIVE WITH REGIS AND KELLY
|
DAD
|
3.1
|
3533
|
|
17
|
MILLIONAIRE (AT)
|
DAD
|
3.0
|
3382
|
|
17
|
KING OF QUEENS-SYN (AT)
|
SPT
|
3.0
|
3333
|
|
19
|
GEORGE LOPEZ WKND B
|
WB
|
2.9
|
3322
|
|
19
|
ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT WKD
|
CTD
|
2.9
|
3281
|
|
21
|
IMAGINATION VI
|
DAD
|
2.8
|
3181
|
|
21
|
KING OF QUEENS-WKND (AT)
|
SPT
|
2.8
|
3169
|
|
21
|
JUDGE JOE BROWN (AT)
|
CTD
|
2.8
|
3148
|
|
24
|
FRIENDS (AT)
|
WB
|
2.7
|
3083
|
|
24
|
INSIDE EDITION
|
CTD
|
2.7
|
3033
|
|
Source: Nielsen Media Research |
